Wheel balancing weights with body and mounting clip

ABSTRACT

A wheel balancing weight has a body for providing mass and a clip attached to the body to securely grip a flange of a wheel. The clip defines a compartment within which is received the flange, and includes a hump projecting toward and into the defined compartment to contact a generally radially inward surface of the received flange such that the received flange contacts the clip at relatively smooth medial contact points on the hump. The weight may be formed as a unitary member from a sheet of steel and have a unitary sheet steel body and sheet steel clip.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is filed concurrently with and shares a commontitle and disclosure with the following applications, each of which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/169,803; and

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/169,827.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wheel balancing weights for beingmounted to a wheel of a vehicle or the like to balance same. Moreparticularly, the present disclosure relates to wheel balancing weightswith a clip that minimizes marring of the mounted-to wheel.

BACKGROUND

In the manufacture of pneumatic tires and also wheels and rims forpneumatic tires, it is exceedingly difficult if not impossible toproduce a tire, a wheel, or the combination thereof in perfectrotational balance. As known, when out of balance, such a tire, wheel,or combination thereof, vibrates excessively upon rotation and can causedamage to adjacent, coupled-to and/or related components. Moreover, whenthe tire and wheel are coupled to a moving vehicle such as a passengercar, the vibration can be uncomfortable to an occupant of the vehicle.

Accordingly, and as is known, such tire, wheel, or combination thereofis balanced by appropriately applying one or more counter-balancingweights to compensate for a measured imbalance. Typically, although byno means absolute, in the case where a tire is mounted to a wheel of avehicle, the wheel includes a circumferential flange or lip at a rim oneither axial side thereof and a weight of appropriate mass is applied ateach flange at an appropriate circumferential location thereof. Methodsof measuring imbalance and determining where to apply thecounter-balancing weights are generally known to the relevant public andtherefore need not be described herein.

Heretofore, such a counter-balancing weight for a vehicle has beenconstructed to have a body forming the majority of the mass of theweight and a clip by which the body is secured to the flange of a wheel,where the clip is attached to the body by any of several attachingmechanisms. For example, the clip may be swaged to a face of the body oraffixed to a face of the body by way of one or more screws, rivets,expansion bolts, or the like. Additionally, the body may be formed froma molten material such as lead or the like around a clip formed fromsheet steel or the like.

Notably, the clip is typically formed by appropriate bending of a pieceof sheet steel or the like into a springed shape that defines acompartment within which is received the aforementioned flange of thewheel. In mounting such a formed clip to such a flange, contact is madewith the flange at lateral edges of the clip, among other locations. Asmay be appreciated, such lateral contacting edges are relatively sharpand therefore tend to scratch or otherwise mar such flange as such clipis mounted thereto and also removed therefrom.

While such scratching or marring is generally minimal and not especiallydestructive to the flange and wheel, such scratching or marring cannevertheless remove a protective coating from the flange and wheel andallow water to penetrate thereinto, which of course can lead to rustingor other corrosion and subsequent decomposition and failure of thewheel. Moreover, if the flange and wheel is especially decorative, suchas for example by being constructed to include a chrome surface, thescratching or marring of such decorative flange and wheel is especiallyunwanted and to be avoided.

Accordingly, a need exists for a wheel balancing weight with a clip anda body, where the clip is constructed in such a manner so as to minimizeor avoid scratching or marring the flange of a wheel when the clip ismounted thereto and removed therefrom. More particularly, a need existsfor such a wheel balancing weight where the clip thereof is formed so asto avoid contacting the flange of the wheel at lateral edges of suchclip. Still more particularly, a need exists for such a wheel balancingweight where the clip includes a hump or the like extending into thecompartment thereof such that contact with the flange occurs at suchhump rather than at the lateral edges of such clip.

SUMMARY

The aforementioned need is satisfied by a wheel balancing weight formounting to a wheel with a flange. The weight has a body for providing apredetermined mass to the weight and a clip attached to the body. Theclip is for securely gripping the flange to mount the weight thereto,and has a springed shape defining a compartment within which is receivedthe flange of the wheel. The clip includes a hump projecting toward andinto the defined compartment to contact a generally radially inwardsurface of the received flange such that the received flange contactsthe clip at one or more relatively smooth medial contact points on thehump. Each medial contact point is away from adjacent relatively sharplateral edges of the clip, whereby the flange is not damaged by therelatively sharp lateral edges when received in and removed from thecompartment defined by the clip.

Such a weight may alternately be formed as a unitary member from a sheetof steel and have a unitary sheet steel body and sheet steel clip suchthat the sheet steel clip as formed is attached to and coupled with thesheet steel body as formed. The sheet steel body may include a centralsheet steel portion laterally flanked by and interposed between a pairof opposing lateral sheet steel wing portions, and/or may be formed froman elongate portion of sheet steel folded a number of times in agenerally radial direction with respect to the mounted-to wheel suchthat the sheet steel body includes a number of folded sheet steellayers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary as well as the following detailed description ofvarious embodiments of the present invention will be better understoodwhen read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose ofillustrating the various embodiments of the invention, there are shownin the drawings embodiments that are presently preferred. As should beunderstood, however, the invention is not limited to the precisearrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a broken-away perspective view of a wheel balancing weight inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention, where theweight is mounted to a rim of a wheel;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the weight and wheel of FIG. 1 takenalong the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are outboard and inboard side views of the weight of FIGS.1 and 2, respectively;

FIG. 5 is a toroidal view of a wheel balancing weight in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention, where the toroidal view is akinto the view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an inboard side view of the clip of the weight of FIG. 5,where the inboard side view is akin to the view from the right towardthe left in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an inboard side view of a weight with a clip in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a toroidal view of the weight and clip of FIG. 7, where thetoroidal view is taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an inboard side view of a weight with a clip in accordancewith yet another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a toroidal view of the weight and clip of FIG. 9, where thetoroidal view is taken along the line 10-10 of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a toroidal view of a clip similar to that shown in FIG. 10but with variations in a hump and in folds.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Certain terminology may be used in the following description forconvenience only and is not considered to be limiting. For example, thewords “left”, “bright”, “upper”, “lower”, “top”, “bottom”, “front”, and“back” designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made.Likewise, the words “inwardly” and “outwardly” are directions toward andaway from, respectively, the geometric center of the referenced object.The terminology includes the words above specifically mentioned,derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.

Wheel Balancing Weights in General

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pneumatic or other tire 10 such as may beused in connection with an automotive vehicle or the like is mountedupon a rim 11 of a vehicle wheel 12 or the like. Examples of such a tire10, rim 11, and wheel 12 are shown and disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.6,553,831, 7,216,938 and 7,249,804, all hereby incorporated by referencein their entirety.

It is to be appreciated that the tire 10 may be mounted to the wheel 12in any conventional or unconventional manner and that the tire 10 may beof any variety or manufacture without departing from the spirit or scopeof the present invention. The tire 10 and wheel 12 or wheel 12 alone maybe balanced manually or by spin balancing or by any other method withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

As is known, a wheel 12 and a wheel 12 with tire 10 mounted thereuponare balanced with respect to the rotational axis thereof and inparticular can be balanced on both the axially inboard and outboardsides of the wheel 12 at or about the rim 11 thereof. Generally, a wheel12 with or without a tire 10 mounted thereupon is balanced by measuringthe imbalance and then attaching a weighted mass or weight 20 at acircumferential location on the rim 11 of the wheel 12 such that themeasured imbalance is counter-balanced by the weight 20. Such balancingis often performed on both the inboard and outboard sides of the wheel12.

Typically, the rim 11 of a wheel 12 at each axial side thereof extendsboth axially and circumferentially. The wheel 12 also includes a centralwell portion 13 through which bolts on a vehicle typically extend toattach the wheel 12 to such vehicle. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the rim11 includes a flange 15 extending generally axially and/or radiallyoutwardly from the rim 11 and circumferentially around the rim 11. Therim 11 typically has an inboard flange 15 corresponding to an inboardside of the tire 10 and an outboard flange 15 corresponding to anoutboard side of the tire 10, as is seen in FIG. 2.

Each flange 15 as shown may be constructed during formation of the wheel12 by crimping or otherwise forming a portion of the rim 11 so as tocreate a generally axially extending lip 16. As seen in FIG. 2, the lip16 may reside at the distal portion of a generally radially outwardlyextending brim 17. As may be appreciated, in addition to radiallydisplacing the lip 16 from the main portion of the rim 11, the brim 17also acts to secure the pneumatic tire 10 onto the rim 11. Also, actingtogether, the lip 16 and the brim 17 of the flange 15 define a pocket 18(FIG. 1) within which the weighted body 19 of a wheel balancing weight20 may be nestled to achieve proper balancing. As may be appreciated,the pocket 18 defined by the flange 15 extends generallycircumferentially with respect to the wheel, and the weighted body 19typically also extends in an arcuate manner so as to follow thegenerally circumferential pocket 18 and be nestled therein, as is seenin FIGS. 3 and 4.

It is to be recognized that the flange 15 may also have otherdimensional features without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the flange 15 extends generallyaxially and generally radially outwardly in a J-shape as viewed intoroidal cross-section, but it should be understood that the flange 15may extend in another direction. Additionally, the flange 15 may vary indimension, location and in number, all without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the body 19 of the weight 20 typically isformed to have an outboard face (FIG. 3) for facing generally axiallyaway from the mounted-to wheel 12, an inboard face (FIG. 4) for facingtoward the mounted-to wheel 12 and the brim 17 of the flange 15 of therim 11 thereof, an outer radial face (top of FIGS. 3 and 4) for facinggenerally toward the lip 16 of the flange 15, and a inner radial face(bottom of FIGS. 3 and 4) for facing generally opposite the radiallyouter face. As shown, the inboard and outboard faces are generallyplanar and the inner and outer radial faces are generally curved (asshown in FIG. 5). As should be appreciated, however, the body 19 asshown in FIGS. 1-5 is merely exemplary and may have other facialconfigurations.

Notably, the body 19 may be formed to closely follow the lip 16 and brim17 of the flange 15 of the rim 11 when the weight 20 is mounted to suchrim 11 at such flange 15. Thus, such body 19 is more intimately nestledwithin the pocket 18 defined by the flange 15 when the weight 20 ismounted to such flange 15 at an appropriate circumferential locationthereof. As was set forth above, the weighted body 19 of the weight 20should be well-nestled in such pocket 18 to achieve proper balancing.

Typically, a wheel balancing weight 20 such as that shown in FIGS. 1-4includes a clip 21 for attaching the weighted body 19 thereof to theflange 15 of the wheel 12. The clip 21 is constructed in an appropriateshape and manner from a durable material such as spring steel so thatthe clip 21 securely grips the flange 15 and attaches the body 19thereto while nestling same in the pocket 18 formed by such flange 15.The body 19 may be constructed from a material such as steel, lead,zinc, or the like so as to impart a particular mass to the weight 20.

As is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the body 19 and clip 21 may be formedseparately and then attached to form the weight 20. Alternately, theclip 21 may be formed first and the body 19 may then be formed aroundsuch clip 21, for example by positioning molten lead around a portion ofthe formed clip 21, perhaps with the aid of a mold. Also alternately,the body 19 and clip 21 may be formed together as a unitary body.

As was set forth above, the clip 21 is typically formed by appropriatebending of a piece of sheet steel or the like into a springed shape thatdefines a compartment 24 (FIG. 5) within which is received theaforementioned flange 15 of the wheel 12. In mounting such a formed clip21 to such a flange 15, contact is made with the flange 15 at contactpoints that include lateral edges of the clip 21. With reference to FIG.4 in particular, inasmuch as the flange 15 is generally arcuate (asrepresented by the dashed line) but the bent clip 21 is generally linearin a direction tangential to the arcuate flange 15, a generally radiallyinward surface of the flange 15 (bottom side in FIG. 4) in point of factcontacts the clip 21 at lateral contact points 22L which correspond tothe lateral edges of such clip 21, while a generally radially outwardsurface of the flange 15 (top side in FIG. 4) contacts the clip 21 at acentral contact point 22C which is generally laterally centered.

As was also set forth above, the lateral contact points 22L at thecontacting edges are relatively sharp, and therefore tend to scratch orotherwise mar the flange 15 as such clip 21 is mounted thereto and alsoremoved therefrom. While such scratching or marring is generally minimaland not especially destructive to the flange 15 and wheel 12, suchscratching or marring can nevertheless remove a protective coating fromthe flange 15 and wheel 12 and allow water to penetrate thereinto, whichof course can lead to rusting or other corrosion and subsequentdecomposition and failure of the wheel 12. Moreover, if the flange 15and wheel 12 is especially decorative, such as for example by beingconstructed to include a chrome surface, the scratching or marring ofsuch decorative flange 15 and wheel 12 is especially unwanted and to beavoided.

Wheel Balancing Weight with Hump in Clip

Accordingly, and in various embodiments of the present invention, andreferring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the clip 21 of the weight 20 is providedwith a hump 26 that projects toward and into the compartment 24 definedby such clip 21. With such hump 26, and as best seen in FIG. 6, thegenerally radially inward surface of the flange 15 (bottom side in FIG.6) in point of fact contacts the clip 21 at one or more medial contactpoints 22M which are away from the lateral edges of such clip 21, andthus not at the aforementioned lateral contact points 22L (FIG. 4) atsuch lateral edges. Significantly, such medial contact points 22M arenot sharp but instead are relatively free of any features that wouldtend to scratch or otherwise mar the flange 15 as such clip 21 ismounted thereto and also removed therefrom. Thus, damage to the flange15 and wheel 12 relating to such medial contact points 22M is minimizedif not eliminated by the clip 21 of FIGS. 5 and 6.

As may be appreciated, a weight 20 having the clip 21 of FIGS. 5 and 6has a general shape and structure akin to that of prior art weights.Thus, the body 19 is generally arcuate and extends generallytransversely and circumferentially for some distance that generallycorresponds to a stated mass of the weight 20, and the clip 21 extendsgenerally tangentially with respect to the arcuate body 19. However, theshape and structure of the clip 21 in particular does differ based onthe presence of the hump 26.

As may be appreciated with regard to FIG. 5, the clip 21 with the hump26 may be embedded within the body 19 of the weight 20, or may beaffixed to the body 19 within a recess (not shown) in the inboard faceof such body 19 by way of screws, rivets, swaging, or the like. Ineither case, the clip 21 has an attaching portion 28 by which the clip21 is attached to the body 19, and a gripping portion 30 that includesthe hump 26 and that defines the compartment 24. As best shown in FIG.5, the attaching portion 28 of the clip 21 is generally planar andgenerally parallel to the inboard and outboard faces of the body 19,although such attaching portion 28 may have other configurations.

As also best shown in FIG. 5, the gripping portion 30 of the clip 21continues from the attaching portion 28 in a generally radial directionand away from the outer radial face of the body 19 and is bent orotherwise shaped to include a number of curves. In particular, thegripping portion 30 as shown continuing from the attaching portion 28curves firstly to a generally axial direction and extends generallytoward a plane defined by the outboard face of the body 19, then curvessecondly to a generally radial direction and extends generally withinsuch plane defined by the outboard face of the body 19 and away fromsuch body 19, then curves thirdly back to a generally axial directionand extends generally toward a plane defined by the inboard face of thebody 19, and then curves fourthly to a direction between an axialdirection and a radial direction and extends through the plane definedby the inboard face of the body 19 and also radially inwardly to adistal end.

Notably, the gripping portion 30 of the clip 21 as bent defines thecompartment 24 within which the flange 15 of the wheel 12 is receivedwhen the weight 20 is mounted to such flange 15. In particular, thecompartment 24 as defined by the gripping portion 30 of the clip 21curves in toroidal cross-section in a manner akin to the lip 16 of theflange 15, and the compartment 24 as defined by the gripping portion 30of the clip 21 is appropriately dimensioned so that such lip 16 may befitted into such compartment 24 and securely gripped by such grippingportion 30 of the clip 21 when the weight 20 having such clip 21 ismounted to the flange 15. As should be appreciated, however, thegripping portion 30 of the clip 21 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 isexemplary and may have other bent configurations while defining thecompartment 24. For example, the clip 21 may emerge from the body 19 ata different location and/or at an angle with respect to the outboardface of the body 19.

Notably, the clip 21 as bent into any particular configuration may beformed in any appropriate manner without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention. Typically, although not necessarily,such forming does in fact occur by bending a slug cut from sheet steel,where the slug is bent against one or more dies by way of an appropriatemachine. As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, all such bending takes place so thatthe formed clip 21 is generally linear in a direction tangential to theflange 15 of the wheel 12 when the weight having the clip 21 is mountedto such flange 15. That is, such bending is generally normal to suchlinear direction.

In various embodiments of the present invention, a clip 21 such as thatshown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is formed to include the hump 26 such that thehump 26 resides generally in the area of the gripping portion 30 that(firstly) curves from the attaching portion 28 to the generally axialdirection, as is shown in FIG. 5. As also shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, thehump 26 is generally centered between the lateral edges of such grippingportion 30 of such clip 21 and projects into the compartment 24generally outwardly radially and thus away from the outer radial face ofthe body 19, although such hump 26 may also project a relatively slightamount in a generally inboard axial direction such that the hump 26projects more toward the distal end of the clip 21.

In other various embodiments of the present invention, a clip 21 such asthat shown in FIG. 11 is formed to include the hump 26 such that thehump 26 resides generally in the area of the gripping portion 30 thatextends in a generally axial direction. In FIG. 11, then, the hump 26 ismore deeply recessed within the compartment 24 and projects moreradially as compared with the hump 26 of FIG. 5. Accordingly, such hump25 of FIG. 11 projects more toward where the gripping portion 30 curves(thirdly) back to a generally axial direction.

At any rate, and as may be appreciated, the hump 26 is positioned in thegripping portion 30 of the clip 21 so that the flange 15 of the wheel 12as received within the compartment 24 is securely gripped between one ormore medial contact points 22M on such hump 26 (two being shown in FIG.6) and a central contact point 22C toward the distal end of the grippingportion 30 of the clip 21, where the central contact point 22C isgenerally laterally centered on a generally radially inwardly facingsurface of the gripping portion 30 of the clip 21. Thus, the hump 26contacts a generally radially inward side of the flange 15 and thedistal end of the clip with the central contact point 22C contacts agenerally radially outward side of such flange 15.

As best seen in FIG. 6, the hump 26 is formed within the compartment 24of the gripping portion 30 of the clip 21 such that the hump 26 has agenerally laterally extending central plateau interposed betweenopposing lateral ramps. As seen, the central plateau is generally linearand generally tangential with respect to the flange 15 when the clip 21is mounted thereto, and is elevated with respect to the adjacent lateraledges of the clip 21. Thus, the central plateau is closer to the distalend of the clip 21 than the adjacent lateral edges such that the hump 26indeed projects from the clip 21 into the compartment 24 definedthereby. The ramps are also generally linear but are at an angle to thecentral plateau such that each ramp transitions from the elevatedplateau to a respective adjacent lateral edge.

Notably, and as is best seen in FIG. 6, the ramps of the hump 26 aredimensioned so that the received flange 15 does not contact lateralcontact points 22L at the adjacent lateral edges of the clip (as is thecase in FIG. 4). Instead, and as also seen, the received flange 15contacts the hump 26 in the area of the medial contact points 22M whichare at about the juncture of the central plateau with each ramp. Asshould be appreciated, such juncture is smoothed and not jagged orabrupt so that no tangentially-oriented edge or other sharp feature ispresent that could damage or otherwise mar the received flange 15.Likewise, and as seen in FIG. 5, the hump is in general also smoothedand not jagged or abrupt so that no edge or other sharp feature in adirection normal to the tangential direction is present that coulddamage or otherwise mar the received flange 15.

The clip 21 may be formed to include the hump 26 in any appropriatemanner without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. For example, the hump 26 may be formed by pressing the clip21 against an appropriate die by way of an appropriate machine, eitherbefore, during, or after the clip is bent to impart the aforementionedcurves.

Inasmuch as the clip 21 as seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 is formed from a slugof sheet steel, and in various embodiments of the present invention, aweight 20 a, 20 b including a clip 21 a, 21 b akin to the clip 21 and abody 19 a, 19 b may also be formed as a unitary member from a slug ofsuch sheet steel, as is seen in FIGS. 7-10. In such a situation, and asshould be understood, the weight 20 a, 20 b including the body 19 a, 19b and clip 21 a, 21 b is formed by bending and/or pressing and/orfolding a slug cut from sheet steel against one or more dies by way ofan appropriate machine. Such bending and pressing and folding would bein a manner set forth above or should be apparent to the relevant publicand therefore need not be set forth herein in any detail other than thatwhich is provided.

Turning to FIGS. 7 and 8, it is seen that in various embodiments of thepresent invention such a unitary weight 20 a is essentially the clip 19of FIGS. 5 and 6, except that the attaching portion 28 of the clip 21 ofFIGS. 5 and 6 is instead a central portion 32 of the body 19 a of theweight 20 a of such FIGS. 7 and 8. Additionally, such central portion 32is laterally flanked by and thus interposed between a pair of wingportions 34 such that the central portion 32 and wing portions 34effectively combine to form the body 19 a of such weight 20 a of FIGS. 7and 8.

Note that the body 19 a as shown in FIG. 7 in particular is generallylinear and not arcuate, as was the case with the body 19 shown in FIGS.3 and 4. As may be appreciated, if the weight 20 a is relatively smallin mass such that the body 19 a is relatively short in length (i.e.,side-to-side in FIG. 7), such a linear body 19 a may still nestlecomfortably within the pocket 18 defined by the flange 15 of a wheel 12when the weight 20 a is mounted thereto. Otherwise, the body 19 a may beformed to be arcuate in a manner akin to that of the body 19 of FIGS. 3and 4.

Note too that the mass of the weight 20 a is likely relatively small ascompared to the mass of a similarly dimensioned weight 20 such as theweight 20 of FIGS. 3 and 4, where the body 19 thereof as formed would byits nature have more bulk. Nevertheless, such a weight 20 a having suchrelatively small mass weight is still of use in situations wherebalancing a wheel 12 and/or tire 10 with wheel 12 only requires such arelatively small mass. Note further that although the mass of the weight20 a could be increased by increasing the arcuate length of the body 19a thereof, such arcuate length has an upper limit before the center ofmass of such a weight 20 a begins to noticeably shift away from theflange 15 and toward the central well 13 of the wheel 12 and alters thebalancing function of such weight 20 a.

Turning to FIGS. 9 and 10, it is seen that in various embodiments of thepresent invention such a unitary weight 20 b is essentially the clip 19of FIGS. 5 and 6, except that the attaching portion 28 of the clip 21 ofFIGS. 5 and 6 is highly elongate in a generally radial direction and isgenerally radially folded back on itself a number of times to form thebody 19 b of the weight 20 b of such FIGS. 9 and 10, as is shown. Thatis to say, the radial length of that portion of a slug of sheet steelthat is to form the body 19 b of the weight 19 b is multiple times theradial length of the formed body 19 b, and such portion of the slug isfolded in the radial direction one or more times to reduce such radiallength to that of the formed body 19 b. The radial length of thatportion of the slug of sheet steel that is to form the body 19 b of theweight 19 b and prior to folding may of course vary depending on themass desired for the formed weight 20 b.

Additionally, the method of folding performed on the slug to form thebody 19 b may vary as deemed necessary and/or appropriate. For example,for a relatively few folds the portion of the slug that is to be thebody 19 b may be folded in halves. However, for more than a relativelyfew folds the portion of the slug that is to be the body 19 b may befan-folded in a manner such as that which is shown in FIG. 10. In suchfan-folding or the like, and as should be appreciated from FIG. 10 inparticular, the sheet steel body 19 b is formed from an elongate portionof sheet steel folded at least two times in a generally radial directionwith respect to the mounted-to wheel such that the sheet steel body 19 bincludes at least three folded sheet steel layers 190. As seen in FIG.10, the sheet steel layers 190 are generally vertical and linear, andare connected by folds 192 of approximately 180 degrees in the body 19b. As a result, each of the at least three folded sheet steel layers 190of the sheet steel body 19 b is generally planar and resides in arespective plane, which is generally vertical in FIG. 10. Also as aresult, all of the planes of the folded sheet steel layers 190 aresubstantially parallel to one another and may fairly be said to besandwiched together. Note however that folding and the radial length ofeach fold are limited both by the radial length of the formed body 19 b(i.e., top-to-bottom in FIG. 10), which should fit radially within thepocket 18 defined by the flange 15 of a wheel 12 when the weight 20 b ismounted thereto, and by the axial length of the formed body 19 b (i.e.,side-to-side in FIG. 10), which should fit axially within the pocket 18defined by the flange 15 of a wheel 12 when the weight 20 b is mountedthereto. Thus, and with regard to a weight 20 b such as that shown inFIGS. 9 and 10, the mass of the body 19 b may be limited by how manyfolds can be fitted generally beneath the clip 21 b of such weight 20 b(i.e., toward the bottom in FIG. 10).

In a variation of the embodiments shown in FIG. 10 in particular, andreferring now to FIG. 11, the body 19 b may have only a single fold ifdesired. As also shown in FIG. 11, the folds may generally position thebody 19 b toward inboard (i.e., toward the right) as compared to thefolds in the body 19 b in FIG. 10, that generally position the body 19 btoward outboard (i.e., toward the left). Note, though, that the numberof folds extending toward inboard may be limited in the body 19 b ofFIG. 11 by space restrictions within the pocket 18 defined by the flange15 of a wheel 12 when the weight 20 b is mounted thereto. In particular,at some point inboard the flange 15 (not shown in FIG. 11) acts as abarrier to further inboard extension of the body 19 b.

In a variation of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, and as may beappreciated, the body 19 b of the weight 20 b may instead be a centralportion 32 that is laterally flanked by and thus interposed between apair of laterally arranged wing portions 34 in a manner akin to that ofthe body 19 a of FIG. 7 (not shown). In such a case, each wing portion34 and the central portion 32 would be collectively formed from anelongate and widened portion of a slug of sheet steel, where suchelongate and widened portion is the width of the formed body 19 b andmultiple times the radial length of the formed body 19 b, and suchportion of the slug is folded in the radial direction one or more timesto reduce such radial length to that of the formed body 19 b. Here, asshould be appreciated from FIG. 10 in particular, the sheet steel body19 b including the central sheet steel portion 32 and the lateral sheetsteel wing portions 34 may be formed from an elongate portion of sheetsteel folded at least two times in a generally radial direction withrespect to the mounted-to wheel such that each of the central sheetsteel portion 32 and the lateral sheet steel wing portions 34 includesat least three folded sheet steel layers 190 such as those shown in FIG.10. As before, the sheet steel layers 190 would be generally linear andconnected by folds 192 of approximately 180 degrees in the body 19 b. Asa result, each of the at least three folded sheet steel layers 190 wouldbe generally planar and reside in a respective plane, in a manner akinto that of FIG. 10. Also as a result, all of the planes of the foldedsheet steel layers 190 would be substantially parallel to one anotherand may fairly be said to be sandwiched together, in a manner akin tothat of FIG. 10. If need be, the winged portions 34 as folded could bebent down to provide the overall body 19 b with a more arcuate form.Such bending of the winged portions 34 may be accompanied by a twistingif necessary and/or desired. In any event, the bending and/or twistingshould not result in any substantial alteration of the essentiallyplanar layers 190 of the winged portions 34, at least when viewedtoroidally such as in FIG. 10, and more particularly when viewed in atoroidal cross-section.

CONCLUSION

In the foregoing description, it can be seen that the present inventioncomprises a new and useful wheel balancing weight 20 with a clip 21 anda body 19, where the clip 21 is constructed in such a manner so as tominimize or avoid scratching or marring the flange 15 of a wheel 12 whenthe clip 21 is mounted thereto and removed therefrom. The clip 21 isformed so as to avoid contacting the flange 15 of the wheel 12 atlateral edges of such clip 21, and includes a hump 26 extending into thecompartment 24 defined thereby such that contact with the flange 15occurs at such hump 26 rather than at the lateral edges of such clip 21.

In addition, the present invention comprises new and useful wheelbalancing weights 20 a, 20 b formed to include the hump 26 in the clips21 a, 21 b thereof, where the clip 21 a, 21 b and body 19 a, 19 b ofeach weight 20 a, 20 b is formed as a unitary member from a slug cutfrom sheet steel. The body 19 a, 19 b of each weight 20 a, 20 b may beformed by folding a corresponding portion of the slug one or more timesinto a shape that fits within the pocket 18 defined by the flange 15 ofa wheel 12 to which the weight 20 a, 20 b is mounted.

It should be appreciated that changes could be made to the embodimentsdescribed above without departing from the inventive concepts thereof.For one example, the weights 20 a, 20 b may be formed without the hump26 in the clips 21 a, 21 b, if advisable or if desired. For anotherexample, the presence of a tire 10 is not essential to the presentinvention and the invention encompasses the use of the wheel balancingweight 20 to counter-balance the wheel 12 only. It should be understood,therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particularembodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications withinthe spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

1. A wheel balancing weight for mounting to a wheel with a flange, theweight formed as a unitary member from a sheet of steel and having aunitary sheet steel body and sheet steel clip such that the sheet steelclip as formed is attached to and coupled with the sheet steel body asformed, the sheet steel body for providing a predetermined mass to theweight and the sheet steel clip for securely grasping the flange tosecure the weight thereto, the sheet steel body being formed from anelongate portion of sheet steel folded at least two times in a generallyradial direction with respect to the mounted-to wheel such that thesheet steel body includes at least three folded sheet steel layers, eachof the at least three folded sheet steel layers of the sheet steel bodybeing generally planar and residing in a respective plane, all of theplanes of the folded sheet steel layers being substantially parallel toone another.
 2. The weight of claim 1 wherein the body has a lateralwidth about equal to or greater than a lateral width of the clip.
 3. Theweight of claim 1 wherein the sheet steel body includes a central sheetsteel portion laterally flanked by and interposed between a pair ofopposing lateral sheet steel wing portions, the central portions andlateral portions collectively formed from the elongate portion of sheetsteel folded at least two times in the radial direction such that eachof the central portion and lateral portions includes at least threefolded sheet steel layers.
 4. The weight of claim 3 wherein the centralportion of the body has a lateral width about equal to or greater than alateral width of the clip, the sheet steel body with the central portionand wing portions being laterally wider than the sheet steel clip. 5.The weight of claim 3 wherein the sheet steel clip and central sheetsteel portion of the body are generally centered with respect to thesheet steel body.
 6. The weight of claim 3 wherein the lateral sheetsteel wing portions are bent into an arcuate form such that the sheetsteel body matches an arcuate form of the flange.
 7. The weight of claim3 wherein the lateral sheet steel wing portions are twisted into anarcuate form such that the sheet steel body matches an arcuate form ofthe flange.
 8. The weight of claim 1 wherein the sheet steel clip has aspringed shape defining a compartment within which is received theflange of the wheel, the clip including a hump projecting toward andinto the defined compartment to contact a generally radially inwardsurface of the received flange such that the received flange contactsthe clip at one or more relatively smooth medial contact points on thehump, the medial contact points being away from adjacent relativelysharp lateral edges of the clip, whereby the flange is not damaged bythe relatively sharp lateral edges when received in and removed from thecompartment defined by the clip.
 9. The weight of claim 8 wherein thesheet steel clip extends in a generally outwardly radial direction withrespect to the mounted-to wheel and away from the attached-to sheetsteel body, curves firstly to a generally outboard axial direction withrespect to the mounted-to wheel and extends generally toward an outboardplane, then curves secondly to the generally outwardly radial directionand extends generally within such outboard plane and away from the body,then curves thirdly back to a generally inboard axial direction andextends generally toward an inboard plane, and then curves fourthly to adirection between the inboard axial direction and a generally inwardlyradial direction and extends through the inboard plane and also radiallyinwardly to a distal end.
 10. The weight of claim 9 wherein the radiallyinward surface of the received flange contacts the medial contact pointson the hump at about where the clip curves firstly to the outboard axialdirection, and wherein a generally radially outward surface of thereceived flange contacts a central contact point on the clip adjacentthe distal end thereof and facing toward the compartment definedthereby.
 11. The weight of claim 8 wherein a generally radially outwardsurface of the received flange contacts a central contact point on theclip adjacent a distal end thereof and facing generally radiallyinwardly toward the compartment defined thereby, and wherein theradially inward surface of the received flange contacts the medialcontact points on the hump generally across the compartment from thecentral contact point and facing generally radially outwardly toward thecompartment.
 12. The weight of claim 11 wherein the central contactpoint is generally centered with respect to lateral edges of the clipand wherein each medial contact point is laterally displaced from thecentral contact point toward a respective lateral edge of the clip. 13.The weight of claim 8 wherein the hump is generally centered between thelateral edges of the clip and projects into the compartment generallyoutwardly radially and away from the body and toward an area adjacent adistal end of the clip.
 14. The weight of claim 8 wherein the humpincludes a generally laterally extending central plateau interposedbetween opposing lateral ramps, the central plateau being generallylinear and generally tangential with respect to the flange when the clipis mounted thereto, and being elevated more radially outwardly than theadjacent lateral edges of the clip, the ramps being generally linear andat an angle to the central plateau such that each ramp transitions fromthe elevated plateau to a respective adjacent lateral edge.
 15. Theweight of claim 14 wherein each medial contact point is at about asmoothed juncture between the central plateau and a respective lateralramp.
 16. The weight of claim 14 wherein the hump is smoothed in adirection normal to the tangential central plateau.
 17. A wheelbalancing weight for mounting to a wheel with a flange, the weightformed as a unitary member from a sheet of steel and having a unitarysheet steel body and sheet steel clip such that the sheet steel clip asformed is attached to and coupled with the sheet steel body as formed,the sheet steel body for providing a predetermined mass to the weightand the sheet steel clip for securely grasping the flange to secure theweight thereto, the sheet steel body being formed from an elongateportion of sheet steel folded at least two times in a generally radialdirection with respect to the mounted-to wheel such that the sheet steelbody includes at least three folded sheet steel layers, each of the atleast three folded sheet steel layers of the sheet steel body beinggenerally planar and residing in a respective plane, all of the planesof the folded sheet steel layers being substantially parallel to oneanother, the sheet steel clip having a springed shape defining acompartment within which is received the flange of the wheel, the clipincluding a hump projecting toward and into the defined compartment tocontact a generally radially inward surface of the received flange suchthat the received flange contacts the clip at one or more relativelysmooth medial contact points on the hump, the medial contact pointsbeing away from adjacent relatively sharp lateral edges of the clip,whereby the flange is not damaged by the relatively sharp lateral edgeswhen received in and removed from the compartment defined by the clip.18. The weight of claim 17 wherein the body has a lateral width aboutequal to or greater than a lateral width of the clip.
 19. The weight ofclaim 17 wherein the sheet steel body includes a central sheet steelportion laterally flanked by and interposed between a pair of opposinglateral sheet steel wing portions, the central portions and lateralportions collectively formed from the elongate portion of sheet steelfolded at least two times in the radial direction such that each of thecentral portion and lateral portions includes at least three foldedsheet steel layers.
 20. The weight of claim 19 wherein the centralportion of the body has a lateral width about equal to or greater than alateral width of the clip, the sheet steel body with the central portionand wing portions being laterally wider than the sheet steel clip. 21.The weight of claim 19 wherein the sheet steel clip and central sheetsteel portion of the body are generally centered with respect to thesheet steel body.
 22. The weight of claim 19 wherein the lateral sheetsteel wing portions are bent into an arcuate form such that the sheetsteel body matches an arcuate form of the flange.
 23. The weight ofclaim 19 wherein the lateral sheet steel wing portions are twisted intoan arcuate form such that the sheet steel body matches an arcuate formof the flange.
 24. The weight of claim 17 wherein the hump includes agenerally laterally extending central plateau interposed betweenopposing lateral ramps, the central plateau being generally linear andgenerally tangential with respect to the flange when the clip is mountedthereto, and being elevated more radially outwardly than the adjacentlateral edges of the clip, the ramps being generally linear and at anangle to the central plateau such that each ramp transitions from theelevated plateau to a respective adjacent lateral edge.